Man or animal
by dewines
Summary: Hagrids unrestrained love for dangerous creatures. short novel.


_This story focuses on Hagrid and his dragon Norbert (spring, book 1)_

_Characters belong to J K Rowling, and special thanks to Terry Pratchett_

_o---------------------------------------o_

'My uncle kicked a swamp dragon once He found it eating his pumpkins. Damn thing nearly took his leg off. '

The man had carefully sneaked closer to Hagrid, and started a conversation surrounding dragons. Without suspicion, Hagrid won an egg in a poker game that evening, staked by a stranger at the pub. Hagrid went home that night, filled with happiness and joy, not realising how naïve he actually was.

He had decided to keep the egg, and the creature that would crawl out of it, for as long as he could.

Hagrid woke up by the sharp strip of sunlight which had cut its way through the window and escaped his roughly made curtains and into his cottage. He reached for a clock from his side table next to his giant wooden piece of bed. He dropped the clock halfway to his eyes, and cursed. He tried to pick it up off the ground, but his hands were both wrapped in bandage, due to the wounds caused by sharp teeth and blazing flames.

Hagrid looked at the creature, which was investigating its new environment, and knew that it was now, irrevocably, a Norbert. The little dragon took an experimental bite out of the dinner table, chewed it for a few seconds, spat it out, curled up and went to sleep. With a sigh, Hagrid watched the dragon and felt a sudden pain in his chest. In a couple of weeks Norbert would be all grown up and Hagrid would no longer be able to take care of him…

It was some weeks in the spring that Hagrid began to feel worried for his precious dragon. Norbert hadn't eaten his coal and he was twitching and whining all the time.

He lay in the wreckage of the fourth fruit box Hagrid had scrounged for him. The rest had all been eaten, or had dissolved.

In the warm silence the everlasting rumbling of his stomach sounded especially loud. Occasionally he whimpered.

Hagrid scratched him vaguely behind the ears.

'What's up with you, boy?' he said.

The door to his cottage creaked open. Harry, Hermione and Ron came in, saw Hagrid hunkered down by the ravaged box and stopped at the doorway. They knew about the dragon already, and was worried about Hagrid's attachment to it.

'Are we disturbing you?' Harry asked

'I'm a bit worried about him, you see' Hagrid sighed.

Norbert gave him a mournful look and closed his eyes again. Hagrid pulled his scrap of blanket over him. Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the main room of the cottage and sat down at his dinner table.

There was a squeak. Hagrid fished around beside the dragon's shivering body, pulled out a small rubber salamander, stared at it in surprise and then gave it one on two experimental squeezes.

'I thought it would be something for him to play with,' said Hagrid, slightly shamefaced.

'You bought him a little toy?' Ron said and wrinkled his nose. Hermione gave him a scrawny punch in the side.

'What a kind thought.' She said.

'You know, I think Norbert is really ill,' said Hagrid.

They turned towards the fruit box.

'He's very hot. And his skin looks all shiny.'

'What's the right temperature for a dragon?' Said Hermione

'Yeah. How do you take it? Said Ron

'I think we ought to should go ask professor Kettleburn to have a look at him,' said Hermione. 'He knows about these things.'

'No, he'll be getting ready for the OWL practical test in Care of Magical Creatures. We shouldn't go disturbing him,' Hagrid said. He stretched out his hands to Norbert's quivering flanks.

'I used to have a dog that – arrgh! That's not hot, that's boiling!'

'I've offered him lots of water and he just won't touch it.' Said Hermione 'What are you _doing_ with that kettle, Ron?'

Ron looked innocent. 'Well, I thought we might as well make a cup of tea before we go out. It's a shame to waste –'

'Take it off him!'

It was already too late, and Ron's hand had to suffer the same fate as Hagrids dinner table had.

Unlike Hagrid, Harry, Ron and Hermione realised that the dragon was in fact a beast, or, as Ron preferred to call it: 'It's a bloody great lizard'. As they had all predicted, Norbert outgrew his surroundings rather quickly…

They sat in miserable silence as Harry macerated his way through the cake like a bucket-wheel rock crusher in a chalk pit. Even if it had been the lightest of soufflés they wouldn't have had any appetite. They'd been trying to drag the minutes out, trying to stretch out the time. But the night had come; they were going to have to tell him. To try to make Hagrid realise that he had to give his illegal dragon up was a difficult task.

'I don't want to be burned alive' Harry started 'and that is a dragon, not a lizard, Hagrid. Could be a bit risky, keeping him? People see a pile of charcoal come back from your cottage; they tend to look a bit askance.' Harry glared at Ron who continued.

'Oh certainly. And I would not like it, having him tasting my fingers if his teeth continue to grow.' Hagrid seemed to understand where they were heading at and gave him a frail nod.

'And, Hagrid,' Hermione continued 'your house is not large enough for you both'

A shrug, and then another nod from Hagrid.

'I knew I wouldn't be able to keep him for a very long time. I just wish he wouldn't grow up that fast.' Hagrid sniffed, and a tear rolled down his cheek. 'And I know he still hasn't recovered from the fever…'

Yesterday, Hagrid had been so happy, noticing Norbert has started to eat again. He'd eaten the most of his table, his coal scuttle, several lamps and the squeaky rubber hippo. Now he lay in his box again, skin twitching, whimpering in his sleep.

'This is not the right place for a dragon. How did I ever think I could keep him secret? Keep him locked in a cage, kept from flying? Or the forbidden forest, building forest fires?'

At these words, Norbert raised his head, yawned, and unfolded his wings, though he could not fly just yet.

'We could write to Charlie' Ron started 'My brother works at a dragon reservation in Romania, I'm sure they'd love to have another Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon there' He shifted uneasily and avoided looking at Hagrid.

Hagrid gave him another nod, as a few more tears rolled down his cheeks. 'Take him' he said 'I know I cannot keep him here, and I'm sure he'd enjoy the feeling of fresh air under his wings.' Fang woke up in his corner, raised up and walked over to Hagrid. 'Thank you… All of you' Hagrid snivelled and buried his face in Fang's thick fur.

A week after this, Charlie's friends took Norbert from Harry and Hermione on top of the astronomy tower. Without Norbert, Hagrid felt as desolate as ever before… However, he was more than happy for his precious Fang.

And they lived happily ever after!


End file.
